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Through a descriptive Ex Post Facto research design, the relationship between teacher reflection and classroom management, the predictive power of teacher reflection components regarding classroom management, and classroom management strategies used by high and low reflective teachers were examined. To this end, 113 EFL teachers completed the Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control (ABCC) Inventory (Martin et al., 1998b) and teacher reflection inventory (Akbari et al., 2010). The results of Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient showed that there was a significant positive relationship between teachers’ reflection and their sense of classroom management. Moreover, a multiple regression was run whose findings revealed that practical and critical components of reflection are the best predictors of teachers’ sense of classroom management. Twenty teachers were also interviewed. The thematic analysis of the interview showed that high reflective teachers used different kinds of management strategies, for their students’ social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties using proper pedagogical planning and techniques, to deal with the classroom problems in comparison with their low reflective counterparts. 

This study aimed to examine the policies in the Iranian English for Academic Purposes (EAP) education and the extent to which objectives match the policies and are materialized in practice. To this end, course descriptions in the syllabi for the EAP programs were evaluated through document analysis and triangulated with the experts’ perspectives through interviews to examine the current status of EAP policy-making and practice in Iran. Seven policy areas from Kaplan and Baldauf’s (2005) language-in-education planning were chosen as the framework of the study. Based on document analysis and interviews with the experts, the similarities and discrepancies in micro and macro levels were investigated. The results showed that EAP course descriptions do not include any comments on policy and there were discrepancies in policy and practice due to such factors as lack of communication channel between the EAP stakeholders and policy-makers. Finally, the study revealed that due to deficiencies in both policy and practice and in order to reach an acceptable status, EAP programs are in dire need for reconceptualizing policy-making and practice. The findings of this study have significant implications for EAP policies and practice in the academic system of Iran.

This study examined the combined effects of two task complexity levels (i.e., high- and low-complex) and two planning conditions including pre-task planning and on-line planning on Iranian intermediate language learners’ speech production regarding complexity, accuracy, and fluency. To this end, 90 intermediate EFL learners from a language institute in Shiraz were randomly assigned into two control and four experimental groups. At first, the language learners in all groups participated in the speaking pretest. Presented with a series of picture description tasks, the participants were asked to narrate a story. During 10 treatment sessions of picture description task performance, the experimental and control groups attempted different planning time conditions including pre-task planning, online planning, and no-planning along with task complexity levels. Finally, following the last session, the posttest was administered to all participants. The narrations analysis, as well as the results of Mixed between-within groups ANOVAs and a series of one-way ANOVAs, manifested that language learners in the pre-task high complexity group outperformed all other groups in terms of complexity. Moreover, the online low complexity group and online high complexity group outperformed the pre-task planning low complexity, no-planning low complexity, and no-planning high complexity groups regarding accuracy. With regard to fluency, the pre-task planning low complexity group significantly outperformed the no-planning low complexity, no-planning high complexity, and online high complexity groups. It was also concluded that pre-task planning affected language learners’ speech fluency. The implications of the results are also addressed.

In an attempt to profile the effect of two methods of teaching Second Language (L2) idioms, Etymological vs. Literal, a group of English Language learners (n= 14) were selected to participate in this study. It was a within-subjects study and the chosen idioms were taught in 6 sessions regarding the two methods to the same group (each method in three sessions). In the first three sessions, 30 idioms were taught literally. In the next three sessions, 30 other idioms were taught etymologically. Then, their post-tests were performed immediately after instruction. Finally, a delayed posttest was conducted after one-week interval to find out the amount of retention of idioms’ constituents. The results indicated no significant effect in the retention and later production of L2 idioms and their constituents in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Following either of these methods regarding time and goals of instruction can be considered as an implication of this study.

In modern education, teachers are regarded as a central and focal part of educational systems and are responsible in the development of education. It should be mentioned that teachers have an influential role in planning and offering an effective and significant educational program. The significant role of teacher-related variables in affecting teachers’ performance and learning outcomes of students has been widely acknowledged in various educational contexts. Therefore, the investigation of teacher variables has received research attention in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. To contribute to this line of research, the current study was set to investigate the role of teacher reflection and self-efficacy in predicting burnout among Iranian EFL teachers. To this end, three validated scales measuring these variables were administered to a number of 171 male and female teachers. As for the data analysis, Structural Equation Modeling was utilized to test the hypothesized model of the constructs. The results indicated that teacher reflection accounted for 12.1% of the variance, and teacher self-efficacy accounted for 25.2% of the variance in burnout. Although both variables had a unique effect on teaching burnout, teacher self-efficacy turned out to be a stronger predictor of burnout. Concerning the implications, teacher education programs may pay more serious attention to teacher self-efficacy and reflection as they proved to play a significant role in reducing teacher burnout.

The present study investigated the relationships among willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, and self-perceived communication competence in Persian (L1) versus English (L2). A total number of 235 adult native Persian EFL learners were selected through convenience sampling to participate in the study. The population consisted of 118 intermediate learners and 113 upper-intermediate learners. The transferability and predictability of these communication variables across L1 and L2 was checked through correlational analyses and linear regression. The findings showed that among these variables communication apprehension was more of a trait-like predisposition which was transferred across first language and foreign language. WTC in Persian had little predictive effect on WTC in English; also, self-perceived communication competence in Persian predicted only 15% of SPCC in English. Implications of findings could provide teachers insight into the extent to which these communication variables are trait-like or situational.

This study aimed at developing and validating a new model and instrument to explore attitudes of Iranian EFL learners towards English as an International Language (EIL).In so doing, the researchers followed several rigorous steps including extensive literature review, content selection, item generation, designing the rating scales and personal information part, Delphi technique, item revision, pilot testing, reliability estimation, and finally validation. In the first phase, five dimensions were identified for the new model based on the literature and interview with a panel of experts. An initial draft of the questionnaire consisting of 33 items was designed for investigating learners’ attitudes towards EIL. Then, it was piloted with a group of 170 Iranian EFL learners. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the obtained data revealed that the questionnaire consisted of a five factor structure. Consequently, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out with another 409 Iranian EFL learners to check the fitness of the proposed model. The result of CFA indicated that the model enjoyed a satisfactory level of goodness of fit, showing that the five-factor structure including cultural realism, linguistic cultural disposition (negative), (dis)ownership of English, EIL posture, and localization was not the result of random variance in the learners’ responses.

This research reports on how EFL teachers feel about their education based on knowing, analyzing, recognizing, doing, and seeing (KARDS) modular model. The researcher employed convenient sampling to choose 15 teachers. Due to the closure of schools in the pandemic era and the online nature of courses, English teachers are only available online or in meetings at the university. A KARDS questionnaire was used to record the teachers’ views. The questionnaire was researcher-made and it was either handed in the meetings or sent via e-mail or other routes. The data gathered showed that though the English teachers had the knowledge necessary about their jobs, most of them lacked the necessary insight required in terms of the 5 modules of education in L2 teaching. The data seem to imply that ELT education programs in Iran are mostly oriented towards teacher training, rather than teacher education.

This quantitative, qualitative study investigates the usage of mobile phone applications in teaching and learning processes. The study aims to identify the benefits, difficulties, and resolutions of using mobile phone applications. The study was conducted in the English Department at Hebron University at the second semester of the academic years 2015/2016. The study focuses on the Business English course. A questionnaire was used to show the general attitudes of the students towards the effects of using mobile phone applications in the classroom. Interviews were administered to reveal the general attitudes of the students and instructors towards the difficulties and the solutions. The results showed that most students responded positively to using mobile applications in teaching and learning processes. In addition, all students had smart phones, and they used varied brands applications in the learning process. Moreover, the results indicated that students understand and learn better through using the applications.

Textbooks play a pivotal role in language learning classrooms. The problem is, among a wide range of textbooks available, which one is more appropriate for a specific classroom and a group of learners. In order to evaluate ELT textbooks, theorists and writers have offered different kinds of evaluative frameworks based on a number of principles and criteria. This study evaluates one example of such a series of ELT textbooks, namely, “American English File” using Littlejohn’s (1998) evaluative framework to see what explicit features of the book are, and what pedagogic values it has. Littlejohn believes that we should evaluate a textbook based on its own pedagogic values and we should see what is in it not what the teacher and evaluators think must exist in it. Consequently his framework is claimed to be devoid of any impressionistic ideas and it is in-depth and objective rather than being subjective. Nine ELT experts and ten ELT teachers helped the researcher rate the evaluative checklists. The results of the study show that although a number of shortcomings and drawbacks were found in American English File, it stood up reasonably well to a detailed and in-depth analysis and that its pedagogic values and positive attributes far out-weighed its shortcomings. The internal consistency between ratings was computed via the statistical tool of Cronbach’s alpha that indicated a desirable inter-rater reliability

Among the latest efficient approaches in language teaching, Task-based Language Teaching has turned up to be the main approach in a way that it is currently recognized as the leading teaching approach in language instruction (Ji & Pham, 2017). Using the proper tasks based on the proficiency level of the learners can facilitate the process of language learning. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of open and closed tasks on improving Iranian EFL learners’ oral performance at intermediate and advanced levels. This study is a quasi-experimental research with pretest and posttest design. The participants of the study included 55 female EFL learners at Jahadeh Daneshgahi language institute in Tabriz city, who were selected through cluster random sampling method. The data were collected through 10 open tasks and 10 closed tasks along with an oral pretest and an oral posttest checklist that examined grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, breakdown-response, interaction, and speech flow of learners’ oral performance. The tasks were selected from the Four Corner series (Richards & Bohlke, 2012). The data were analyzed by a two-way MANCOVA test and ANCOVA. The obtained results indicated that open and closed tasks can improve EFL learners’ oral performance and there is no significant difference between open and closed tasks in developing learners’ oral performance in both levels. Besides, at the advanced level, the amount of oral performance development is greater than the intermediate level. The outcomes of this study can be useful for EFL teachers and learners regarding using the optimal kind of tasks in improving oral performance.

Reading comprehension has recently been reconceptualized in EFL reading instruction to foreground the importance of putting a social perspective on learning. Developed as a crucial aspect of Vygotskian sociocultural theory, activity theory views reading as a socially-mediated activity, for which the prerequisite cognitive processes are distributed among teacher, individual reader, other students, and artifacts (Cole & Engeström, 1993). Given that cooperation and division of labor are the central tenets of activity theory, this study aimed at investigating whether assessing cooperative learning had a decisive effect on the reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 60 sophomores majoring in English translation at Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, were selected as the participants of the study. The reading instruction was geared to cooperative learning based on the elements of activity theory. Over the course of 12 weeks, both the process and products of cooperative reading were self-, peer-, and instructor-assessed. The findings indicated that assessing cooperative reading through the lens of activity theory had a significant effect on the participants’ reading comprehension. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between the products of cooperative reading in predicting the participants’ reading comprehension posttest scores. Furthermore, the results showed that the participants held favorable perception toward activity theory-based cooperative assessment. The findings are hoped to shine a light on collective reading and highlight the need for more innovative constructivist approaches to EFL reading in Iran.

Although most EFL learners are equipped with a fair command of general English knowledge, they lack the sufficient proficiency required to communicate their thoughts and ideas fluently and accurately. This study was conducted to explore the impact of task-based language teaching (TBLT) on the development of EFL learners’ productive skills. The participants of this study were 25 undergraduate students majoring in English Language and Literature at a State University who had enrolled in a course entitled “Listening and Speaking (I).” The teaching method utilized for this course included three tasks (listening, writing, and speaking), and each task included three phases (pre-task, whilst-task, and post-task). For the purpose of data analysis, the researcher analyzed students’ four oral presentations and four writing assignments quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, an attitude questionnaire was administered and a semi-structured interview was conducted to elicit the participants’ attitudes regarding (TBLT). The findings revealed that all the students could significantly improve their productive skills. Correspondingly, the results of the questionnaire and semi-structured interviews revealed participants’ positive attitudes regarding (TBLT). Students realized that developing their speaking and writing skills was a complex process, and through practicing, they could overcome their problems and enhance their fluency and accuracy.

An utterance may constitute act. Hence, performing acts through speech are commonly committed by people currently; it is no exception for the EFL students. Some linguists assert that learning communicative competence is of great importance in communication including the act of speaking in the social context. This study was carried out to investigate the students’ acquaintances with speech act. A survey was conducted in this study so as to know their acquaintances with speech act. This study focused on the divisions of speech act including locutionary act, illocutionary act, perlocutionary act, and direct and indirect speech act. The data resource was the sixth semester students of class B at University of Islam Malang majoring in English Education Program. A questionnaire was distributed to know if they have an acquaintance with the speech act. The data was analyzed with descriptive statistics after being collected. The findings revealed that the students still committed errors towards the speech act competence. They, a considerable part, did not know parts of speech act which is salient to recognize. For this reason, the researcher expects that the students will be capable of recognizing more on speech act by learning either from this paper or from other resources regarding speech act learning.